Hall of Fame Pinnacle Award
The Pinnacle Award is designed to honor today’s leaders of the offshore industry, those who have made significant contributions in moving the standards of the industry forward. The Pinnacle Award recognizes outstanding individuals who have taken today’s leading-edge tools and technologies and applied them to real world challenges. In meeting these challenges, these individuals will have greatly advantaged their companies and indeed the industry as a whole.
GRETCHEN WATKINS
President, Shell Oil Company
Executive Vice President, Shell Upstream Unconventionals
As President of Shell Oil Company, Gretchen Watkins oversees the strategic integration of all Shell businesses in the United states and leads the US Country Coordination Team. Since being named to this post in January 2019, she has become the company’s leading voice in the engagement of public and private leaders across a wide range of energy-related policy and societal challenges.
In addition to these responsibilities, Gretchen serves as Executive Vice President of Shell’s Upstream Unconventionals business, overseeing the exploration, development, and production of Shell’s unconventional oil and gas portfolio, which includes assets in the US, Canada, and Latin America.
Before joining Shell in July 2018, Gretchen served as the Chief Executive Officer of Maersk Oil. Appointed CEO in October 2016 following two years as Chief Operating Officer, Gretchen’s tenure at Maersk coincided with a low-price environment for oil, but under her leadership the company delivered above-target operational and financial results. Upon sale of the business to Total in August 2017, she delivered deal closure and a safe and successful transition to the new enterprise.
Gretchen began her career nearly 30 years ago as a Facilities Engineer for Amoco in the Gulf of Mexico. She then worked as a Trading Manager for Amoco and BP before commencing an international career that has included a variety of senior executive roles at BP, Marathon Oil, and Maersk Oil in North America, Europe, and Asia. She has led joint ventures and negotiated contracts with countries and companies across the upstream, midstream, and downstream businesses.
Gretchen served as a non-executive director for Atkins, a global engineering consultancy and FTSE 200 company from 2014 until its merger with SNC Lavalin in 2017. Gretchen graduated from The Pennsylvania State University with a bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering and has had executive education at Cambridge and Stanford Universities.
ANTHONY G. PETRELLO
Mr. Petrello is the Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer. He was first elected to the Nabors Board of Directors and the Executive Committee of the Board in 1991. He previously served as the Company’s President and Chief Operating Officer from 1991 to October 2011, and Deputy Chairman since 2003.
Mr. Petrello holds a J.D. degree from Harvard Law School and B.S. and M.S. degrees in Mathematics from Yale University.
Mr. Petrello resides in Houston, Texas with his wife, Cynthia Petrello, and daughter, Carena Francesca. He serves as a director of Hilcorp Energy Company. Mr. Petrello is also a member of the Board of Trustees of Texas Children’s Hospital and an advocate for research and clinical programs to address the needs of children with neurological disorders. His wife is a Board Member of the Houston Grand Opera, the Museum of Fine Arts and the Alley Theatre. In 2011, he and his wife, Cynthia, received the Woodrow Wilson Award for Public Service from the Smithsonian Institution for their philanthropic efforts.
Born 15 Oct 1954, Newark, NJ
J.D. Harvard Law School
B.S. and M.S. in Mathematics Yale University
NEIL W. DUFFIN
Neil joined Mobil Oil Company in 1979 and held many positions with Mobil North Sea Ltd. until 1983, when he moved to London, planning satellite field developments. In 1986, he joined Subsea Operations for the UK offshore sector; from 1989 to 1998, Neil held various Manager positions in the Beryl Field, North Sea; Producing Advisor for Europe and Africa; and Operations & Northern North Sea Manager, for Mobil North Sea Ltd. In 1998, Neil was Sr. VP, Mobil Oil Indonesia, responsible for E & P operations. In 2000 Neil became V.P. ExxonMobil Development Co., responsible for CIS/Middle East Projects. In 2004, he became V.P., Africa, ExxonMobil Production Company. In 2006 he was V.P of ExxonMobil Development Co, serving as President 2007 through 2016.
Neil became President of ExxonMobil Production Company, in January 2017.
In 2010, Neil received the Chairman’s Award for his valuable contribution to the Offshore Energy Center (OEC). He served on the OEC Board from 2007 through 2017 and during 2014-2016 Neil served as Chairman.
Born: 22 January 1957 St. Andrews, Scotland, UK
Heriot Watt University, Edinburgh, UK
Bachelor of Science Degree in Mechanical Engineering 1979
CINDY B. TAYLOR
Cindy B. Taylor, currently serves as the President and CEO of Oil States International, Inc. Oil States is an internationally diversified oilfield services company with revenue exceeding two billion dollars and employing over six thousand employees across the globe.
Cindy’s professional career began as a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) in a Big Six accounting firm from 1984 to 1992. In 1992 she joined Cliffs Drilling Company and served as Controller. In 1999 – 2000 she served as the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of L.E. Simmons and Associates (SCF Partners). When SCF Partners merged four private companies and took them public via an Initial Public Offering in 2000, Cindy became the CFO of the newly formed Oil States International, Inc. She served as CFO and Senior Vice President until the spring of 2007, when she was named President and CEO.
In addition to her duties at Oil States, she also serves as a Director on the Board of Tidewater Inc., a global vessel operator, servicing the international oil and gas industry.
Born 24 November 1961 Goldthwaite, Texas
BS Accounting Texas A&M University Class of 1984
GARY P. LUQUETTE 
Gary P. Luquette joined the McDermott Board in 2013 and serves as the non-executive Chair of the Board. He is also a member of the Compensation Committee.
From January 2015 until November 2016, Gary served as President and Chief Executive Officer of Frank’s International N.V. (Frank’s), a global provider of engineered tubular services to the oil and gas industry, and served as a special advisor until his retirement in December 2016. He also served as a member of Frank’s Supervisory Board from November 2013 until May 2017.
Previously, Gary served as President of Chevron North America Exploration and Production, a unit of Chevron Corporation, from 2006 until September 2013. He began his career with Chevron in 1978 and, prior to serving as President, held several other key exploration and production positions in Europe, California, Indonesia and Louisiana, including Managing Director of Chevron Upstream Europe, Vice President, Profit Center Manager, Advisor and Engineer.
He has also served as a director of Southwestern Energy Company, an independent energy company engaged in natural gas and oil exploration, development and production, natural gas gathering and marketing, since 2017, and as a director of Apergy Corporation, a provider of highly engineered technologies that help companies drill for and produce oil and gas efficiently and safely around the world, since 2018.
Gary graduated with a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette.
Merrill A. “Pete” Miller, Jr.
Mr. Miller is the Executive Chairman of DistributionNOW. Prior to assuming this role, he served as President and CEO of National Oilwell Varco from 2001 to 2014 and Chairman of the Board from 2002 to 2014. Mr. Miller joined National Oilwell in February 1996. Mr. Miller’s work history includes broad experience in the oil service and drilling contractor industries including 15 years at Helmerich & Payne, where he held various positions culminating as Vice President, US Operations.
Mr. Miller graduated from the U.S. Military Academy, West Point and earned his MBA degree from Harvard Business School. He serves on the Board of Directors for Chesapeake Energy Corporation and Transocean. He is a Board Member of the Offshore Energy Center and serves as an Advisory Board Member of Spindletop International. In addition, Mr. Miller is a member of the National Petroleum Council.
Dr. David H. Welch
David H. Welch served as Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of Stone Energy Corporation. He joined Stone in mid-2004 and during his tenure, repositioned the Company for long-term profitable growth in the Gulf Coast, Appalachia and other onshore areas of North America.
Prior to joining Stone, David held many executive positions with Amoco and later BP, including Director of Strategic Planning, President of the Amoco Gulf Group, Sr. V.P of BP North America and President of BP Alaska Canada Gas. He also spent 5 years with the US Geological Survey and one as an adjunct professor at Tulane in the graduate school.
David studied petroleum engineering at LSU and Colorado School of Mines, economics and chemical engineering at Tulane, and business at Harvard. He completed a doctoral dissertation entitled World Oil Market Economics and has testified on multiple occasions before the U.S. Senate on energy related issues.
David served on various corporate boards, during his career, serving as a director and Chairman of the Enterprise Risk Committee of Iberia Bank Corp., past chairman of the Offshore Energy Center, executive director of the National Ocean Industries Association, a trustee of the Nature Conservancy, Chairman of Upper Lafayette Economic Development Foundation, past chairman of the Greater Lafayette Chamber of Commerce, a director of Louisiana Association of Business and Industry and past chairman of the United Way of Acadiana.
Sadly, David passed away on August 14, 2018.
Peter Kinnear
Mr. Kinnear was appointed Chairman of the Board of FMC Technologies in October 2008. He also served as President from February 2006 through March 2010 and Chief Executive Officer from March 2007 through March 2011. Mr. Kinnear served as President and Chief Operating Officer of FMC Technologies from March 2006 to March 2007. He served as Executive Vice President of Energy Systems for FMC Corporation from 2000 until he became Vice President of FMC Technologies in 2001. He has also held positions in a variety of operating and marketing roles within FMC Corporation since 1971 when he joined the company.
Mr. Kinnear received a bachelor’s degree in Chemical Engineering from Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee, and his MBA from the University of Chicago. He has served on the Boards of the Offshore Energy Center, the American Petroleum Institute, the National Association of Manufacturers, the Business Council, the National Petroleum Council, the Petroleum Equipment Suppliers Association and Spindletop International.
He currently serves on the Boards of Stone Energy Corporation and Superior Energy Services, Inc., as well as the Menninger Clinic, the Houston American Heart Association and the United Way of Greater Houston.
Marvin E. Odum
Born
13 December 1958
B.S.
Mechanical Engineering
University of Texas at Austin
Masters
Business Administration University of Houston
Marvin E. Odum is President of Shell Oil Company and Director Upstream of Royal Dutch Shell’s subsidiary companies in the Americas.
Mr. Odum holds positions of board leadership and participation in the Business Roundtable and the American Petroleum Institute. In addition, he serves as a commissioner of the National Commission on Energy Policy. Mr. Odum is a member of the Dean’s Council of the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University and the Advisory Board of the Cockrell School of Engineering at The University of Texas at Austin. He also serves on the University Cancer Foundation Board of Visitors for MD Anderson Cancer Center and several other Houston-area charities.
Mr. Odum began his Shell career as an engineer in 1982, and has since served in a number of management positions of increasing responsibility in both technical and commercial aspects of energy.
He holds a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from The University of Texas at Austin and a master’s degree in business administration from the University of Houston.
Dean E. Taylor
Dean E. Taylor is Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of Tidewater Inc., the leading worldwide provider of marine transportation services to the offshore oil and gas industry. He graduated from Tulane University where he received a BA in English in 1971. He received an MS in Business Administration from Boston University in 1977, and completed the Harvard Graduate School of Business Advanced Management Program in 2000. He was a US Naval Officer from 1971 – 1978, after which time he joined Tidewater Inc. He had various worldwide assignments at Tidewater since 1978, including overseeing Tidewater’s business in Italy, the Middle East and India, all of South America, Latin America, the North Sea and West Africa. He is fluent in Italian, Spanish and Portuguese, and has a working knowledge of French.
Mr. Taylor currently serves outside of Tidewater on the boards of Whitney National Bank, the American Bureau of Shipping, the International Support Vessel Owners’ Association and the National Ocean Industries Association.
Mr. Taylor enjoys spending time with his family on his makeshift ranch in Mississippi, as well as boating, hunting, and fly fishing.
Chuck D. Davidson
Charles D. “Chuck” Davidson is Noble Energy, Inc.’s chairman, and chief executive officer. Noble Energy is a leading independent energy company which has been engaged in the exploration and production of oil and natural gas since 1932. Noble Energy’s operations include producing assets in the United States as well as in China, Ecuador, Equatorial Guinea, Israel, and the North Sea. Before joining Noble Energy, Chuck was chairman, president and chief executive of Vastar Resources, Inc., a publicly owned subsidiary of ARCO, which merged with BP in 2000. He joined ARCO in 1972 and subsequently progressed through numerous engineering, managerial and executive assignments within various ARCO subsidiaries. Chuck has a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering from Purdue University and a master’s degree in management from the University of Texas in Dallas. He is a member in numerous professional and industry trade organizations as well as being involved with several Houston community organizations.
Andrew Gould
Andrew Gould became Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Schlumberger Limited in February 2003. He previously held the positions of President, Chief Operating Officer and Executive Vice President, Schlumberger Oilfield Services, President of Wireline and Testing, President of Sedco-Forex, and Treasurer of Schlumberger Limited. A director on the boards of Schlumberger Limited and Rio Tinto plc., Mr. Gould was Vice Chair of the National Petroleum Council’s landmark 2007 report for the US Secretary of Energy entitled “Facing the Hard Truths About Energy.” He serves on advisory boards for Imperial College, London, and King Fahd University for Petroleum and Minerals, Dhahran, Saudi Arabia. Mr. Gould joined Schlumberger in 1975 in Paris after working for Ernst & Young where he qualified as a Chartered Accountant.
JAMES T. HACKETT
James T. Hackett is Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of Anadarko Petroleum Corporation, one of the world’s largest independent oil and gas exploration and production companies. He joined the company in December 2003 as President and Chief Executive Officer. Houston-based Anadarko is active in the United States, Algeria, Brazil, China, Qatar, and Trinidad and is executing strategic exploration programs in several other countries.
Before joining Anadarko, Mr. Hackett served as President and Chief Operating Officer of Devon Energy Corporation following its merger with Ocean Energy where he served as Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer, itself a product of a merger in 1999 with Seagull Energy Corporation where he was Chairman, Chief Executive Officer and President. He joined Seagull from Duke Energy where he led its Energy Services Division as President. Prior to that, he was Executive Vice President of Pan Energy when the company merged with Duke Power to create Duke Energy. His energy experience includes positions in engineering, finance and marketing with NGC Corp., Burlington Resources and Amoco Oil Co.
Mr. Hackett is the former Chairman and on the Board of the Domestic Petroleum Council, an Executive Committee member of the American Petroleum Institute, and a member of the Society of Petroleum Engineers. He is a director of Temple-Inland, Inc. and Fluor Corporation and serves as Chairman of the Board of the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas. He is the former Chairman of Houston Grand Opera and member of the Board, and serves on the Boards of Baylor College of Medicine, The Business Roundtable and the National Humanities Center.
Mr. Hackett holds a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Illinois and a Master of Business Administration from Harvard University. He and his wife Maureen have four children.
Joseph H. Netherland 
Mr. Netherland was elected Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer and a director of FMC Technologies in 2001. He previously served as President and a director of FMC Corporation from June 1999 after serving as Executive Vice President of FMC Corporation from 1998. Mr. Netherland was the General Manager of FMC Corporation’s Energy and Transportation Group from 1992 to 2001. Mr. Netherland became General Manager of FMC Corporation’s former Petroleum Equipment Group and General Manager of its former Specialized Machinery Group in 1985 and 1989, respectively. He serves on the Boards of Directors of the American Petroleum Institute, the Petroleum Equipment Suppliers Association, Newfield Exploration Company and the National Association of Manufacturers. Mr. Netherland is also a member of the Advisory Board of the Department of Engineering at Texas A&M University.
William J. Doré
The Offshore Energy Center honors William J. Doré with its 2005 Pinnacle Award.
Doré is the Founder, Chairman, and CEO of Global Industries, Ltd., a leading provider of marine construction and support services.
Established by Doré in 1973 as a small diving company with three employees, he has expanded its services over the past 32 years to include construction barges and diving vessels.
Today his company operates 65 vessels and employs over 3,200 personnel in 27 countries around the world.
Doré’s philanthropic and community endeavors focus on education and youth scholarship programs, especially in his home state of Louisiana. Doré is a 2000 recipient of the Horatio Alger Award. He was granted an Honorary Degree of Doctor of Humane Letters by McNeese State University to honor his contributions and commitment for better education and quality of life.
Luke R. Corbett
The Offshore Energy Center honors Luke R. Corbett with its 2004 Pinnacle Award.
Corbett began his career with Kerr-McGee in 1985 and served in positions of increasing responsibility. In 1995, he was appointed President and COO, and two years later, he became Kerr-McGee’s fourth chairman and CEO since it was founded in 1929.
Under Corbett’s direction, Kerr-McGee has become one of the largest U.S.-based oil and gas exploration and production companies and the world’s third-largest producer and marketer of titanium dioxide pigment.
Corbett believes in giving back to the community and actively serves on the boards of numerous industry, civic and charitable organizations.
Robert E. Rose
The Offshore Energy Center honors Robert E. Rose with its 2003 Pinnacle Award.
Rose, Chairman – GlobalSantaFe Corp., began his career with Global Marine in 1963, and for over 13 years served in various foreign and domestic positions including manager of the Glomar II, the industry’s first purpose-built drill ship. Upon leaving Global he became President, Chief Executive Officer, and Director of Diamond Offshore until his resignation in 1998. Rose re-joined Global Marine as President and Chief Executive Officer in 1998 and in 2001 engineered the merger of Global Marine Inc. and Santa Fe Corp.
Rose is the recipient of Spindletop’s “Don E. Waggener/Butch Griffin Award,” and the ‘International Association of Drilling Contractors’ “Contractor of the Year Award.”
He actively serves on numerous industry, civic and charitable organizations’ Boards. He is a veteran of the Air Force.
Robert J. Allison, Jr.
The Offshore Energy Center honors Robert J. Allison, Jr., with its 2002 Pinnacle Award. After a 14-year career with Amoco, Allison joined Anadarko Production Company as Vice President, Operations. He was made President in 1976 and elected Chairman and CEO in 1986. Anadarko is one of the largest independent producers, and a key player in the worldwide offshore arena.
Allison is a true business and civic leader. He is on the Board of the American Petroleum Institute and U.S. Oil & Gas Association, and is a member of the National Petroleum Council. He actively serves on the Boards of many civic and charitable organizations.
James C. Day
The Offshore Energy Center is proud to present James C. Day with its 2001 Pinnacle Award. Day graduated from Phillips University and began his career with Noble in 1977. He was named President and CEO of Noble Drilling Corporation in 1984 and was subsequently elected Chairman of the Board in 1992. Day transformed Noble Drilling from a domestic land drilling company to a major international deepwater contractor through a series of strategic company and asset acquisitions. Under Day’s leadership the Company expanded its scope of services to include engineering consulting and drilling technologies.
Richard A. Pattarozzi
The Offshore Energy Center is proud to make Rich Pattarozzi the first recipient of its Pinnacle Award. Pattarozzi graduated from the University of Illinois with a BS in civil engineering. He served as President of Shell Deepwater Development and Production companies in the Gulf of Mexico, retiring as Vice President of Shell Offshore Inc. Pattarozzi helped develop solutions to deepwater challenges never previously tackled and made the setting of deepwater records routine. He has driven many remarkable achievements from deepwater drilling and completion techniques, to high pressure wellheads and umbilical, to innovative floating production facilities.